In grammar school, was there a scarier day than Valentine’s Day? Would pretty Sue like her card or laugh at it? Would you get a small paper heart from cute Robert? Would you get a card at all?
As we get older such worries fade, but Valentine’s Day still makes some people uneasy. A day that should be pleasure-filled has, for many, become one that is pressure-packed, filled with romance anxiety.
“I hate it,” said a 48-year-old pal. “Flowers? Jewelry? Cards? Dinner? What’s she going to find acceptable?”
This man admits to giving his wife, mother and sister Valentine’s Day cards and “once, many years ago, taking a girlfriend to a bar and buying her a drink called Kiss-in-the-Dark.”
That concoction of gin, vermouth and wild cherry brandy is, fortunately, out of fashion, but the story goes to show how holidays force people into uncharacteristic or extravagant behavior.
“Of course we raise our prices. We give each lady a rose, though,” said the owner of a suburban Italian restaurant that is offering all manner of specials on Thursday evening.
Few celebrants know (or would care) that there are other reasons one might celebrate Feb. 14. It’s the day, in 1849, that James Polk became the first president to be photographed. And, of course, there was that 1929 day when some of Al Capone’s pals opened fire in a garage on North Clark Street.
Osgood and I didn’t see any Polk- or Capone-shaped candles at Waxman Candles, 3044 N. Lincoln Ave., but for hearts and lips rendered in wax, this is the place.
Opened in 1996, it’s one of only two Waxman stores in the country. The first was opened in 1971 by a fellow named Bob Werts in Lawrence, Kan. These are places where candles are often referred to as “works of art” and those who hand-craft them are called “wax architects.” The votive candles in Osgood’s photo are the simplest forms in a gallery-like space that features such wax creations as ribbon and spiral tapers, decorated lanterns, sculpted fish, balls, squares and pyramids. With 50 colors and 80-some fragrances available, the wax architects have a lot of creative freedom, which they exercise enthusiastically and playfully.
Waxman is at its most enjoyable around holidays, when theme candles predominate. I won’t spoil your fun by telling you of this Valentine’s Day offerings. There’s nothing scary about any of them. For that, visit around Halloween, when Waxman offers candles in the shape of skulls that ooze “blood” as they burn.
